📖 Biblical Definition
Eighteenth king of Judah (2 Kings 23:34-24:7; 2 Chronicles 36:4-8; Jeremiah 22, 26, 36), reigning eleven years (c. 609-598 BC) during the prophetic ministry of Jeremiah. Originally named Eliakim, he was installed as king by Pharaoh Necho of Egypt and renamed Jehoiakim. He did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD; the prophet Jeremiah's ministry was largely conducted under and against his reign. Jehoiakim is most infamously remembered for cutting up the scroll of Jeremiah's prophecies with a penknife and burning it piece by piece in the brazier (Jeremiah 36:21-23, the scroll Baruch the scribe had written down at Jeremiah's dictation). The act of contempt for the prophetic word was answered by the LORD's command to Jeremiah to rewrite the scroll with additional condemnation: Therefore thus saith the LORD of Jehoiakim king of Judah; He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David: and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost (Jeremiah 36:30). Jehoiakim was a vassal first of Egypt, then of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon; he rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar, who responded with bands of Chaldeans, Syrians, Moabites, and Ammonites. Jehoiakim died (likely killed; the historical details are unclear but Jeremiah's curse-prophecy of an unburied corpse exposed to heat and frost was fulfilled). He was succeeded by his son Jehoiachin who reigned only three months before the deportation of 597 BC.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Eighteenth king of Judah (c. 609-598 BC); installed by Pharaoh Necho; cut up and burned Jeremiah's scroll (Jeremiah 36); rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar; cursed with an unburied corpse.
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JEHOIAKIM, proper n. (eighteenth king of Judah) Originally Eliakim; renamed Jehoiakim by Pharaoh Necho. Reigned eleven years (c. 609-598 BC; 2 Kings 23:34-24:7; 2 Chronicles 36:4-8; Jeremiah 22, 26, 36). Did evil in the sight of the LORD. Most infamously: cut up the scroll of Jeremiah's prophecies (which Baruch the scribe had written at Jeremiah's dictation) with a penknife and burned it piece by piece (Jeremiah 36:21-23). The LORD responded with a curse-prophecy: he shall have none to sit upon the throne of David: and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost (Jeremiah 36:30). Vassal first of Egypt, then of Babylon; rebelled against Nebuchadnezzar. Succeeded by his son Jehoiachin.
📖 Key Scripture
Jeremiah 36:23 — "And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth."
Jeremiah 36:30 — "Therefore thus saith the LORD of Jehoiakim king of Judah; He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David: and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost."
Jeremiah 22:18-19 — "Therefore thus saith the LORD concerning Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah; They shall not lament for him... He shall be buried with the burial of an ass, drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem."
2 Kings 24:1-4 — "In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him... Surely at the commandment of the LORD came this upon Judah, to remove them out of his sight, for the sins of Manasseh."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
No major postmodern redefinition. Jehoiakim's destruction of Jeremiah's scroll is the paradigm-case of a ruler's contempt for the prophetic word and its dire consequences.
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Jehoiakim as a proper name does not undergo lexical corruption. The principal pastoral lesson is the paradigm-case of Jeremiah 36: a ruler who responds to the prophetic word by cutting it up with a penknife and burning it column by column. The act is dramatic; the divine response is precise. The LORD commands Jeremiah to rewrite the scroll with additional condemnation; Jehoiakim's contempt for the Word does not destroy the Word; the Word is rewritten with added curses against him. The lesson cuts: no ruler, no editor, no censor, no cultural force can erase the LORD's word. Burned scrolls are rewritten; suppressed prophets are heard; the LORD's word stands forever (Isaiah 40:8).
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Eighteenth king of Judah; 609-598 BC; Egyptian then Babylonian vassal; burned Jeremiah's scroll; cursed unburied corpse.
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['Hebrew', 'H3079', 'Yehoyaqim', 'Yahweh raises up']
['Hebrew', 'H4039', 'megillah', 'scroll (the scroll Jehoiakim burned)']
['Hebrew', 'H8593', "ta'ar", 'knife, razor (the penknife of Jeremiah 36:23)']
Usage
"Eighteenth king of Judah; eleven-year reign; Egyptian then Babylonian vassal."
"Cut up and burned Jeremiah's scroll piece by piece (Jeremiah 36:23)."
"The LORD commanded Jeremiah to rewrite the scroll with additional curse-prophecy."